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Abstract

Before the Treaty of Rome (1957) established the European Economic Community (EEC), French officials made it clear that France’s signature on the Treaty was contingent on its partners’ acceptance of Eurafrican policy. Because Algeria held a unique legal status among France’s overseas holdings, the way in which French officials advocated its insertion within EEC regulation merits particular attention. This status stood distinct from that of the associated territories and, when applied to the Treaty, would theoretically extend to Algeria and its residents the guarantees of free labor circulation, development aid, and tariff preferences open to metropolitan citizens through EEC membership. Because French officials hoped to preserve trade relations and sought to quell crises across the empire, they negotiated EEC regulations in a bid to retain control through the continuity of economic and political ties. Eager for France to join the EEC, the other states agreed. Thus, a supranational treaty became a tool with which France could attempt to maintain control over its empire.

This moment in colonial and European relations demonstrates how citizenship rights and multilateral diplomacy were influenced by economic as well as political pressures. It revealsthat Europe’s current borders are strikingly less expansive than those envisioned by France and its partners in the early years of European integration.